CAIRO: Egypt's military prosecutor questioned Egyptian activist Asmaa Mahfouz for over five hours yesterday. Mahfouz was questioned regarding a report filed against her by the legal affairs department of Egypt's ruling military council. The report accuses Mahfouz of slandering Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, head of Egypt's ruling military council, and other top military personnel, including Maj. Gen. Hassan al-Ruwaini and Maj. Gen. Mohsen Fangary. Mahfouz was quested in the presence of a defense team, which included eight lawyers. Among them were Hossam Issa, professor of law and Ain Shams University; human rights lawyer Ragia Omran of the Protesters Protection legal front; Fatima Siraj and Amr Ezz. Mahfouz is a member of the Tayaar Masry party and former leader of the April 6 movement. She is a prominent activist and is one of those credited with sparking the January 25 demonstrations which led to an 18-day uprising that toppled 30-year Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. Mahfouz was charged with deliberately broadcasting false rumors, public humiliation of the military establishment and incitement to use violence. The evidence against her included a comment on the website of El Nas satellite channel on July 23 and several comments on social networking sites Facebook and Twitter. Mahfouz said she did not intend to slander the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces through comments she posted on her Facebook and Twitter pages but rather intended to criticize their actions that could lead to “chaos.” The prosecutor also mentioned a comment she posted on her Facebook page on August 5 in which she commented on an incident in which the military police assaulted a woman in Tahrir Square. Mahfouz demanded that Maj. Gen. Ruwaini be investigated for inciting violence against the peaceful march that was organized by the April 6 movement calling for an end to military trials of civilians. In that regard, the prosecutor asked, "How can we be sure you represent April6?" to which Mahfouz replied, "All the activists and the media know that I belong to the April 6 movement." Eventually the prosecutor released Mahfouz on 20,000EGP bail (U.S. $3,400). Lawyer Amr Ezz said the military prosecutor would announce within 15 days when the investigation would be resumed. On exiting the prosecutor's office, Mahfouz said she would continue fighting for the better Egypt that the January 25 Revolution aspired to achieve.
